It’s time to talk: A short film will raise an often-ignored yet critical issue, that of child anxiety. Catch the premiere on Saturday

A short film will raise an often-ignored yet critical issue, that of child anxiety. Catch the premiere on Saturday

Ten-year-old Piu fears her mother. She fears chatting up with neighbours. She fears losing things. That even includes Mr P – a pen she calls her best friend. Such is her life – lonely and full of fears.

While Piu is a fictional character – the protagonist of Devanand Mahakud’s latest short film as a director Piu Ka Pen, her story is all around us. She suffers from child anxiety, and according to Anxiety and Depression Association of America, one in eight kids have the same disorder. That is, they experience fear, nervousness, shyness, and they start to avoid schools, gatherings and activities. In turn, this affects their relationships, studies, self-esteem; they experience hopelessness, forgetfulness, rage, and even suicidal thoughts, sometimes well into their adult lives. And the elephant in the room – these children just don’t open up to their parents.

The 18-minute film wants to broach upon this often-ignored and lesser-understood topic with its premiere in the city on Saturday. Though a light, non-preachy, family entertainer on how children can succumb into their cocoons, it means serious business. That’s why the makers at Lebeda Productions are inviting two psychiatrists – Dr MV Ashok, and Dr Yeshaswini – over to field questions from parents and children in attendance. Next, it will travel to EFF BRICS Film Festival in Russia, schools and corporate firms in the city to interface with young and adults both.

Besides being a film director, Mahakud is also a karate instructor in Bengaluru. That means, he interacts with young children week in, week out. “Many times I would have children talk to me about their problems which they should be ideally sharing with their parents. So that got me thinking about the gap between parents and children,” Mahakud traces back the inspiration for Piu Ka Pen. Plus, while growing up in Odisha, he remembers his Class 7 neighbour, a boy, “turning mad because his mother would not let him play, lock him in the house to study, and just shout at him.”

Raakhee Bose, who conceptualised the short film, had a similar take. An actor in theatre, film, and TV, she has conducted workshops, and put up a lot of plays with children, so she knew something is missing. “Children, these days, are trying to find some kind of warmth and company in the virtual world, in gadgets, and sadly not in their parents.

This is making them prone to abuse, depression, and suicidal thoughts (Blue Whale Challenge) online. There are a whole lot of YouTube videos on how to cut and hurt yourself!”

What makes identifying anxiety disorders in children difficult is one, they can’t articulate their problems as well and confidently as adults can, and thus, it can be mistaken to be the normal developmental stress. Two, parents either don’t spare enough time talking to them heart-to-heart, or gift them gadgets to serve as a proxy company.

Mahakud is now much versed about this mental health disorder thanks to the research done by Bose. So parents and elders must look out for signs and nip the problem in the bud by talking it out. “There is a difference between fear and anxiety. Fear is a response to a stimulus; it happens then and there. For instance, you fear the sight of a dog or you fear to look down from a tall building. Anxiety goes a step ahead. It is the fear of something that may or may not happen in future. Take for example, fearing a stranger. When fears as such start hindering your day-to-day life and emotional health, that’s when it starts taking the shape of a problem, a disorder.”

As their film was readying to be edited this August, the news of youngsters committing suicide due to the Blue Whale Challenge started hitting headlines. That’s when the team realised Piu Ka Pen must have a bigger agenda.

It must be “a campaign” to sensitise parents and children about the causes, symptoms, and remedies of child anxiety, than just hopping from one film fest
to another.

“Neither we are claiming that our film can bring a significant change overnight nor are we blaming parents, we are just trying to start a discussion about child anxiety, and getting people to acknowledge the issue. Until children talk to their parents, parents talk to their children, and doctors talk to both of them, this issue will continue to damage young lives,” adds Bose, who lost a close cousin at a young age to suicide. “She was a brilliant kid, but nobody knows what happened,” she adds.